My first post and good afternoon to you all.
I live in Suffolk and wondered if anyone has any advice on picking berries and storing them for winter feeding? There is a huge crop out there at the moment and I'm sure some of it will go to waste this year. I have hips, sloes, etc., in abundance all around ...
John
Freeze them! I made berries into fat cakes ones year and kept them in the freezer to use later on in the winter along with a stash of berries. Though one fat cake did start to smell a bit on the alcoholic side...lol
Millie & Fly the Border Collies
That's all I need, drunken starlings having a party!
Hi + welcome
Freeze them for the birds. You can lso pop them in water so they thaw in the winter + create rather wonderful bird edible 'decorations'!
Sloes wait for the first frosts + then well here there are only 3 ingredients!! Sugar, Gin + time!! Yummy somefor the birds + a winter warmer for me as well!! Lol
'In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks' John Muir.
Excuse wobbily dyslexic spelling!
Just save the alcoholic ones for Christmas or New years lol
Oh well this side of the land seems to be quite damp so the sloes are looking good + plump!! Need to save up for a 'quantity' of gin!!
We had a great crop of wee wild strawberries in the garden + the wild rasps were wonderful!!
Plenty of sloes around our area but I have never noticed birds taking them even in the depth of winter.It is for this reason that I have no worries about taking them for our own use.If they are fairly plump you do not have to wait for frosts,prick them after picking and freeze them,add to the gin or vodka as you have time.Never thought about freezing berries for the birds use even when there is plenty the birds seem to clear them but Ilike the idea of freezing them for use in suet cake may try that.
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
Me too. I've never actually seen birds eating them, and use them myself for making sloe gin each year.
I take it birds eat rose hips? I'm sure they eat haws and elder berries, certain they eat blackberries. Any other common ones worth freezing? Typical country hedgerows all around here ...